GW Holidays
by Suni Daughter of Moro
Summary: Think you know what holidays are like for the GW guys? It's not all like you'd imagine...
1. Halloween

Resurrection

By: Alicia Maxwell

It was a beautiful night.  Cool, breezy, and creeping with the eerie aura of ghosts.  It would be a perfect night to speak with the dead… if the living hadn't dragged me to Relena's stupid costume party.

Heero was a cowboy and Wufei was a ninja.  I was sure the two of them were planning to fight and see if a katana could triumph over a derringer so I made sure to stay away from them.  Duo and Hildie were both dressed as hippies.  The look fit Duo but something about Hildie in a tie-dye shirt looked freaky.  Noin and Zechs were dressed as Cinderella and Prince Charming.  Relena was a fairy princess, Sally was a soldier because she was dying to put on her old uniform again, Cathy and Trowa were circus performers, and Quatre... well… Quatre was uncomfortable with wearing the Shinto priest costume I made so I let him wear his ordinary clothes.  As for me, I was quite content in wearing ten kimonos, which symbolized nobility in ancient Japan.

"Hey Alicia," Relena came up to me.  "Is it me or… does the party seem to be… dying?"

"It died when Duo tried to break dance to 'The Monster Mash'," I retorted.

"Is there anything you can do to… liven things up?" Relena asked hopefully.

"You want me to spike the punch?" I asked.  "Sorry Peacecraft.  I don't do that.  Ask Duo."

"Actually I was hoping you'd do something in the area of performance," she replied.

"Like what?" I demanded.

"Sing, dance, play music… juggle fire for all I care," she answered in a whisper.

"How about raising the dead?" I gave an evil grin and led her off into the next room, dragging Quatre along with us.

Basic chit-chat was what the party had been reduced to by the time I finished with the plan.  The plan was perfect.  I was ready to resurrect the dead.  Relena and I reentered the room.  Relena took a seat and I stood up in front of the others. 

"Ladies and gentlemen… and _Duo," I singled out my twin sibling spitefully, "prepare to be amazed!"_

"By what, your stupidity?" Duo asked, returning a malicious insult.

"Spirits of the dead, rise and live again.  Spirits of the dead, rise and live again.  

Spirits of the dead, rise and live again," I chanted softly for a solid minute.  "SPIRITS…, RISE!" I shouted.

The room began to spin before me.  I was dizzy, cold, tired, and queasy.  It was only seconds before the lightning began to flash and by the third clap of thunder, I had passed out, leaving the others to deal with the ghost- the ghost of Treize.  Of course, I hadn't really been sick and I had not passed out.  Actually, it was all part of the scheme and I was getting a floorboard view of the entertainment… and I was getting it with a camera.

The hologram ghost let out a maniacal laugh that sent shivers down even my spine.  "Is t-that… Treize!?!" Duo shrieked, nearly jumping into the nearest person's arms.  This "nearest person" happened to be Trowa and Trowa didn't want to bother with it.  When Duo jumped, Trowa stepped back two or three feet, leaving Duo to fall flat on the floor.

"Hey, where's Quatre?" Heero asked calmly.  "And where did Treize go?"

"Treize is gone!?" Wufei's head jerked around to where he had last spotted the apparition.  Sure enough, it was no longer there.

"Guys!  Help!  Help!  Somebody help me!  Please!  HELP!" Quatre's cried echoed across the room.

"That's Quatre's voice!" Noin gasped when she recognized it.

"Help!  Help!  Treize has me!  HELP!" another cry went out.  Then, a thud was heard and all fell silent.

"He got Quatre!" Duo shook Trowa.  "Treize got Quatre!  And he whacked him!  He whacked him!!" he cried hysterically.

"C-calm down, Duo, I-I'm sure Q-Quatre's f-f-fine," Heero told him shakily.

"Ya see!  YA SEE!" Duo shook Trowa harder.  "Even HEERO'S terrified!  We're doomed!  Doomed I tells ya!"  Duo had released Trowa's collar when he went to flail his arms about while speaking of the impending doom but Trowa hadn't stopped shaking.  Now, Trowa, too, was scared.

I slid my foot down onto a key on my hidden keyboard.  Time for Quatre to reenter the scene…

A hologram ghost of Quatre came slowly down the stairwell.  It paused and smiled warmly, "Hi guys!  What's going on?"

"WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" an ear-piercing collective scream echoed across the house and, I'm almost positive, Relena's closest neighbors, who lived a mile down the road, must have heard it.

"Okay Maxwell," Wufei flicked on the lights.  "I've had enough of your cheesy light show!  Get up off the floor!"

"Heh," I flung myself up and turned toward him, camera still in hand and recording, "How'd you figure it out 'Fei?"

"When I saw what was behind this curtain," Wufei replied yanking the curtain away and revealing Quatre.  "He moved enough to open the curtain for a split second and I saw in."

"What's going on?" Duo blinked.

"Alicia and Relena cooked up a little scheme," Trowa said.  "Would the genius like to explain her work to the ill-educated public?"

"Thank you Trowa.  It all started off with the chant, as you all probably remember.  All that happened after the chant- the shivering, the fumbling, the passing out- it was all pure acting skill." I smiled.

"The lightning?  That was the one thing I couldn't figure out," Wufei said.

"Pure coincidence.  We didn't make the lightning or plan it in any way," I answered.

"Now explain the 'ghosts' if you will, Alicia," Trowa asked politely.

"Okay.  The ghosts were just projected holograms I control with this keyboard attached to my ankle," I pulled up slightly on the bottom of my kimonos.  "They were projected from that alcove on the next floor," I pointed up.   "Then we gave Quatre a microphone and sent him behind the curtain.  And, that, in a nutshell, is how I fooled you all into thinking Treize was back and Quatre was dead and got an amazing video in the proce--"

"What is it, Alicia?" Duo asked.

"I have to go there.  I have to go there.  I have to go there.  I have to go there.  I have to go there.  I have to go there.  I have to go there," I droned softly, an eerie look plastered on my face.  I remember nothing past the first "I have to go there" but Duo told me what I did.

"You went up to an old tombstone in the graveyard that hadn't been taken care of in years," Duo told me, "and you pulled the weeds off the grave.  Your skin took on a ghostly glow and, then, after sitting quietly for a few minutes, you stood up and said in an eerie voice not your own, 'Happy Halloween…'."

THE END


	2. Christmas

**Christmas Vacation**

By Alicia Maxwell Winner

It was noisy in the classroom.  There was yelling and loud laughing and shouting echoing all through the room.  The teacher had given up on trying to calm down the class a long time ago.  It was the last day of school before Christmas vacation anyhow so what was the harm in letting the students talk?

"Finally, Christmas vacation at last!" Duo smiled swinging his feet up onto the desk.

"Mister Maxwell!  Feet off the desk or you'll spend the first hour of your vacation polishing every desk in the class room!"

"Yes Miss Bech," Duo took his feet off the desk.

"How many times has she singled you out to yell at this year?" Trowa asked.

"I counted a hundred and twenty-nine before I stopped caring.  I don't see why though; Heero's always doing the same thing as me when she singles me out to yell at.  Take a look," Duo nodded toward Heero.  Sure enough, Heero had his feet up on the desk.

"So how should we spend our Christmas vacation guys?" Quatre asked.

"I'm going sledding down the biggest hill I can find when the snow gets thick enough whether you guys want to or not," Duo replied.

"Oh no you're not!  I'm not spending my vacation taking care of frostbite and scabs!"

"I'm not going to fall off the sled this year, Alicia."

"Of course you are.  You say you won't every year and yet every Christmas vacation you fall off the sled anyhow," Trowa contradicted.

"So what do you want to do this holiday Trowa?" Quatre asked.

"Spend some time with my sister."

"Aw, that's sweet."

"She bribed me into it."

"I did not!" I said.  "I just said it would be nice if Trowa and I actually hung out over the holiday like we did back when we were pilots."

"Then she threatened to blow up Heavyarms if I said no," Trowa whispered to Quatre.  My sensitive ears picked it up.

"I never said anything at all about Heavyarms you liar!"

"Miss Maxwell!  Keep it down back there!"

"Yes ma'am!" I replied.

"Looks like Alicia can't get used to being in a classroom rather than a military squadron," Quatre chuckled pointing to my hand which I had subconsciously into a salute.

"You think that's weird?  Here's a real killer- she hasn't been in a military squadron in ten years," Trowa stated.

"She was in a military squad at age seven!?" Quatre exclaimed.  "I heard her say it all happened when she was young but… I just figured she was older.  Like fourteen or somethin."

"By the most recent military standards since weapons were eliminated fourteen is a common age to enter the military," Trowa replied.

"I suppose so…. Now what are we going to do for Christmas?  I've only heard individual plans so far."

"I know," I said, "but it's a secret until vacation actually starts."

"Oh come on Alicia!  Spill it!  There's only five minutes left until vacation starts!"  Duo said swinging his feet up on the desk again.

"Mister Maxwell!"

"Sorry ma'am!" Duo pulled his feet off the desk again.  "C'mon!  Tell us Alicia!"

"Okay I'll give you a hint," I smiled.  "What's this?" I handed him my ski lift pass.

"It's a ticket for a ski lift," Duo blinked.

"It's a _pass.  It'll give me all the trips up the slopes all through Christmas break."_

"And that relates to the way we spend our holiday how?" Duo asked me.

"Isn't it obvious?  She intends to spend Christmas on the slopes," Trowa said.

"Exactly.  I rented out a cabin in the Great Ice Mountains for all of us to share."

"Are you serious?" Quatre asked.  "Can you seriously afford that?  Maybe I sho--"

"Quat relax.  I got it.  I have the money to pay for it."

"So we're really going?  All of us?" Duo asked. 

"No we're tying you and Wufei together and locking you in my closet before we leave.  Of course we're all going you numskull!"

"What are you guys arguing about?" Heero asked peering over the top of his book- _How to Hack By: Heero Yuy (1).  Why he was reading a book he had written himself I have no clue.  Maybe he was really reading a comic that was hidden in the book.  After all, I __had found a huge stash of DBZ graphic novels under his bed the one time he paid me to clean his apartment._

"We're going to a ski lodge for Christmas Heero!" Duo replied.  

"Define 'we'."

"You, Tro, Quat, Duo, Wufei, and me and the girls if they wanna come," I said.

"What about Zechs?" Quatre asked. "You can't just leave him out of the picture because you two have a history of rivalry."

"Fine," I sighed, "he can come."

"Nice going Quatre!  Now you'll have to listen to those two arguing for two straight weeks!" Wufei yelled.

"Mister Chang!"

"Grr," Wufei growled.  How he detested being in school.  Especially with all the teachers yelling at him for being… well… a big mouth.

"_I'll have to listen to it?  Uh-uh we're _all_ gonna hear it."_

"No way Quatre!  I'm not going on that ski trip!"

"What's the matter?  Wufei an acrophobiac?  Or maybe little Fei can't ski?" I laughed.  

"My name is _Wufei, onna!  __WUFEI!"_

"MISTER CHANG!"

Two hours later Duo, Quatre, Trowa, and I were packing and loading up the car.  I went back into the house and up to Quatre's room where I went into the closet and got my box of comics.

"Come on.  Hurry up or they'll leave without us," He came over to me and grabbed my hand.

About three hours later we arrived at the cabin.  Heero and Relena were waiting outside for us.  I suppose they got done their packing quicker because Heero lacks the skills to have a decently long conversation with anyone.  We got out of the car and went inside.

To sum up the next few hours I'll be brief.  Ten minutes after we were settled in we sent Relena and Heero out to get groceries and the rest of us began decorating.  A half-hour after that, Wufei and Sally arrived with an unexpected guest.

"Who's that?" Duo asked nodding his head toward the little girl.  Her hair was jet-black and so were her eyes; she was obviously a relative of Wufei.

"Meet my niece.  My sister sent her to China to study abroad a few months before L5 was blown up.  Took a while to find her again."

About an hour later Cathy and Hildie arrived.  Hildie was greeted with smiles all around and a huge hug from Duo while Cathy was greeted with a hug from Trowa, smiles from Sally, Quatre, Duo, and Hildie, and a threatening glare from me.  I had told her the wrong address hoping she'd give up and go home.  I suppose Trowa gave her the right address.  Curse it all!  Now I'd have to spend two weeks with my dear-sweet brother's nasty bratty girlfriend.  Ten minutes later Heero and Relena came back with arms filled with groceries.

After two more hours of waiting and playing cards, Noin and Zechs arrived.

"Sorry we're late!  We got called out to a meeting," Noin said.

"Nice shirt Noin," Duo laughed.  Noin looked down only to realize she was wearing one of Zechs' shirts.

"Oops…"

"I told you not to dress in the closet.  You can't see anything in there," Zechs said.

"Now that everyone's here let's break out the eggnog!" Duo said.

"Ew! You actually drink that!?" Relena exclaimed.

"Yeah!  It's good!"

"Well too bad; there isn't any," Heero said.

"Aw man…. Oh well, It's sledding time!!!!!" Duo pulled his sled out of the closet heading for the door.

"Duo NO!" Hildie and I tackled him in an attempt to save him from injury.  We hit each other before hitting him though.

"Time to sled down the steepest hill around!  Yahoo!" Duo yelled running across the snow-covered chilly ground.

"Someone call 911 and ask them to have a helicopter on standby," I begged before dashing out the door after him.  I followed him for an hour.  We just kept running and running.  I finally got sick of it, lunged full-force forward tackling him.

"Ow!  Alicia!" Duo said as he forced me off of him.

"Don't ever try this again!  You'll get yourself killed sledding down one of these huge slopes!" I yelled at him before snatching the sled from him.

Two hours later I was back at the cabin.  It felt great being in the warmth of the cabin again.  Quatre came in the door and walked over to me flopping down on the couch beside me.

"Trowa took me snowboarding.  Convinced me there was no harm in trying it.  Tell me, is this considered harm?" He pulled up the sleeve of his outfit to show me a frostbitten six-inch gash.

"Oh no… how'd that happen?"

"Tree.  I'm lucky to still have my head."

"Let's go clean that up," I took him into the kitchen.  I took a warm washcloth and wiped his wound carefully wrapping up the cut after I finished cleaning it.

"I don't see why my father never liked you.  You're such an angel."

"Come on Quat.  I'm a _Maxwell._  We're major fighters.  It takes a great deal of work to tame a Maxwell child enough so that they can give up fighting."

"Even you, Duo, and Trowa?"

"Trowa's a Barton now.  He's still my brother but he's free of the Maxwell blood since he took on the name of Barton.  Duo was always the weak link in the Maxwell chain so I suppose he was easier to tame with his weaknesses.  As for me… Quatre, I'm a fighter.  I'm afraid I'm always gonna be a fighter."

"That doesn't bother me.  You're a fighter; I can accept that."

"That's good to know.  Hey Quat, where's Trowa anyway?"

"Oh yeah, he went up to the main ski lodge with Cathy to meet up with Hildie, Duo, Sally, Wufei, and Nikki."

"Nikki?  Who's she?"

"Wufei's niece.  He never told you her name?"

"Nah, but who cares.  Say where are Yuy and the Peacecrafts?"

"Noin, Relena, Zechs, and Heero went skiing.  Apparently Heero isn't perfect cause I saw him beef it on a bunny slope on my way back here."

"Oh dear God!  Please say you're joking!" I laughed.

Quatre and I kept talking for about an hour.  Then everyone else came back.  On his way in, Duo stubbed his toe somehow.

"DAMMIT!" He cried.

"DUO!" Hildie yelled at him.  That was just enough- an avalanche started.  Within five seconds we were trapped in the cabin.

"We're completely snowed in," Heero murmured.

"At least we have enough food to last until a rescue crew finds us," Relena said.

"I'm not waiting around for a rescue crew," Heero stood up.  "I'm gonna go dig a way out through the upstairs window."

And he did.  And we went home and had a great holiday sleeping over at Heero's apartment…

You didn't really believe that story did you?  Well if you did let me tell you- I lied.  Here's what really happened….

After the avalanche covered the cabin, Heero got mad and started chasing Duo and threatening to kill him.  When the rest of us intervened, Heero decided he'd kill all of us.  It took two hours of running from Heero for Trowa to formulate the idea of escaping through the upstairs window.  He broke away from the rest of us and, while Heero was preoccupied with chasing us, carved out a tunnel.  He came to us and led us out through the tunnel but Duo put his foot in the wrong place, causing the tunnel to cave in on the last one of us- Heero.  When Heero got out he was furious.  He chased Duo halfway down the hill before Duo tripped, fell onto someone's sled, and went flying down the hill on it.  Guess Duo got to go sledding after all….  

As I conclude this story let me wish you a happy holiday.  I hope you have as much fun as I'm having right now…

_The End_


	3. New Years

**New Year's Blues**

By: Alicia Maxwell Winner

It was the day of New Years Eve.  Duo was bummed out because, after being put in a junior class as a senior, he still managed to fail science first quarter.  I handed him a harmonica.

"What in the world did you give me this for?"

"Ya got the blues; ya play the blues.  That's the only cure."

"Why can't I just eat some Kraft macaroni and cheese and feel better?"

"Very funny.  If you don't wanna try it then go along with the current plan of loafing around in my bedroom.  I'm sure that'll put you in a great mood for tonight."

"Hey this is as much my bedroom as it is yours."

"That's beside the point.  How do you intend to survive tonight in this state?  Get yourself drunk while the rest of us are having fun while sharing a plate of mozzarella sticks?"

"How did you know my plan?" He cocked an eyebrow at me.

"Look, I'm not letting you get drunk, so you better fix these blues of yours before tonight," I said leaving the room.  Peering through the keyhole of the door, I saw Duo put the harmonica aside, look back at it as if it was calling him, and finally pick it up again.  He began playing.  "Ah Duo's old blues harmonica did the trick."

When Duo and I were young, before we were separated and I ended up a wealthy kid and he a street urchin, Duo and I used to play the blues.  Duo would play the harmonica and I played the saxophone.  I wasn't really a big fan of playing the saxophone but I liked the piccolo and that just didn't fit in with the blues so I played the saxophone anyway.  I don't know why but hearing Duo play again made me feel a little better.  Leaving my spot by the door, I went downstairs, humming along with Duo's blues tune as I walked.

Around six thirty, Duo and I walked to Heero's house.  There, we met up with Heero, Wufei, and Trowa and the five of us continued on our way to the restaurant/bar where we would be for the majority of the night.

When we arrived, I saw Quatre standing outside waiting for us.  The fear didn't strike me until I realized there was blood dripping from his nose.

"Quatre!  What the heck happened to you man?" Duo asked.

"I went inside and got a table so we wouldn't have to wait for one when everyone arrived.  I sat down and waited.  This guy sitting at the table next to me- God knows what his problem is- gets up, comes over, socks me, and throws me out the door.  So here I am," Quatre shrugged.

It wasn't my place to go in.  If I went in there and beat up the man who hit Quatre, though I don't agree with the theory that men have superior strength when compared to women, it'd still make him look like a weakling.  That's why I decided to lay low and let Duo take the first crack at it.  Duo walked in the front door, yelled out that he was "lookin' for the dude who tossed blondie boy out" and… got thrown out the door, landing on his face.

"Dang drunk threw me out too," Duo sat up.

"Do you really think he's drunk?  He seemed pretty aware of what he was doing in my opinion," Quatre said.

"Yeah I suppose he can't be drunk and still have such great hand-eye coordination," Duo chuckled a little.

"That's it.  It's my turn now," Trowa said.  I swear he was enjoying this.  I'm actually _positive_ he enjoyed watching Duo get thrown out.  Trowa walked into the building.  He must've picked the guy out right away because I never heard anything until the fight started.  Two minutes passed and Trowa was thrown out the door, though he was still in much better shape than Duo and Quatre.  "Well, I guess my turn's up.  Who's next?"

"I'll go," Heero said.  "I'll teach this guy not to mess with my friends."

I believe that's the one and only time he ever called us his friends.  I suppose that's what scared me about him at that moment.  He trudged in the front door, as mad as heck.  

No noise.

We waited and we waited… and we waited.  A _half-hour _later, Heero came out. 

"Oh jeez," I groaned realizing what had happened.  This unknown guy had just gotten the perfect soldier completely drunk.  "Heero what the heck happened?"

"He's a really cool guy," Heero smiled before passing out.  All of us stood there for a second in total shock.  After that, Wufei decided it was his turn.

Again, it happens.  Half-hour passes, he comes out, and _Wufei's_ drunk!

"Wufei Chang!  How could you get yourself drunk with the guy who beat up all the others and got Heero drunk?" I asked.

"Easy: he offered me a drink and I took it.  Then he offered me another and another and another…" Wufei yawned, "And another…."  Wufei passed out.

I had had enough by now.  I was sick of this fiasco.  I stormed in the front door of the place.

"Who's the wise guy who's been throwing my friends out and getting them drunk all night!?" I yelled out.  A hand raised over at the bar.  I walked over to the man who was dressed in a trench coat and an odd hat, and decked him.  He fell right off his stool, flying a few feet before actually falling.  That's when I realized who it was.  "Zechs!?"

"Yeah?" He asked getting himself up again.

"You're the one who beat up Quatre, Trowa, and Duo and got Heero and Wufei drunk?!"

"Yep.  Didn't Trowa tell you guys it was me?"

"You think I woulda just socked you if I knew it was you?  If I knew it was you I woulda rang your neck.  What the hell were you thinking when you broke Quatre's nose?"

"I didn't really hit him _that hard now did I?"_

"His nose was bleeding _beyond severely when I got here.  If you call that a weak hit then I'm princess of the lobster people."_

"What?" 

"Never mind."

How would he be able to understand humor anyway?

"How bad did I hit Duo?" Zechs asked a tad embarrassed of how hard he had hit Quatre.

"Not that bad.  He's bleeding but not severely.  I don't think you broke anything."

"I guess you're mad I didn't break anything huh?"

"Nah not really, but Duo probably is.  He's got a science test when we go back to school in two days.  I think he'd rather be lying in bed on that day with a broken leg than failing a science test in school."

"And Trowa?"

"He looks like he really enjoyed fighting you. Maybe that's why he let Heero come in."

"I couldn't hit Heero since he started dating my sister… so I got him drunk."

"And Wufei?  I hope to God _he's not dating your sister."_

"O'course not.  I just didn't feel like fighting again… so I got him drunk too."

"So why'd you beat Q-chan up in the first place?" 

"I was only kidding.  I _thought_ he knew who I was so I threw him out as a joke."

"Yeah really funny.  I hope you know how long it'll take for Quatre's nose to heal.  Think of that the next time that you consider playing a 'joke' on someone."

"I really hit him that hard eh?  Well I'm sorry.  It was only a joke."

"Ah, s'alright. Wanna join the fun and join us for a little New Year's bash?"

"You're inviting me to hang out with you guys after I beat up Winner, Barton, and Maxwell and got Yuy and Chang drunk?"

"Yeah why not? So do you wanna join us?"

"Okay but can Noin come along?" Zechs nodded toward a woman over in the corner who was snoring louder than I could yell.  Sure enough it was Noin.

"What happened?"

"I've never seen anything like it.  She had one sip of wine and she was asleep," Zechs blinked.

"May as well bring her along.  If we're gonna get Wufei and Heero sober we may as well do the same for Noin," I shrugged.  Zechs walked over to Noin, picked her up and carried her out the door.  I followed along behind.

"Zechs?!  You're the jerk who hauled off and slugged me!?"

"Sorry Duo.  I was only kidding around."

"Let's go back to my place," Quatre suggested.  "Who wants to spend New Year's Eve in a bar overhearing blues stories anyway?"

"Quatre, you have such a grim outlook on bars," I smiled, "which is exactly what it should be.  Let's go."

It took us awhile to get back to Quatre's.  Once we were there Zechs put Noin down on the couch, Duo and Quatre put Heero down on the love seat and Trowa and I _dropped Wufei on the hardwood floor of Quatre's living room.  _

"OW!  What the hell was that for?!?"  Wufei shouted waking up with a painful start.

"For being you," I grinned.

"Grr…" Wufei growled.

"I'll go make some coffee.  I'll be back in a moment," Quatre said.

"Don't get me any!  I find coffee repulsive!" I called out.

"I think we should save it all for Heero and Noin," Trowa said.  "They're going to need it when they wake up drunk with a hangover."

It took some time, but we eventually got Heero and Noin up and sober.  At least it wasn't past midnight yet.  Though we all gave Heero and Wufei an earful on drinking underage, that didn't spoil the fun.

Midnight came; everyone cheered in what I consider the absolutely humiliating typical way of yelling your lungs out.  Quatre played that song you always hear on New Year's that I don't remember the name of on the piano.  After he was finished Zechs came up to him.

"Last time I checked it was still customary for a man to kiss his girlfriend at midnight on New Year's.  Go kiss the Maxwell girl," Zechs insisted.

"I would if I had any idea where she was," Quatre admitted chuckling a little.  Everyone looked around and- sure enough- I was nowhere to be found.  Then Trowa found me using my own tricks against me- dang, he's observant!

"Behind you, Q," He said.

Quatre turned around and his nose ran right into mine.

"Lookin for someone?" I asked.

"Nope, not at all," He said before he kissed me.

"Well that's all well and good but it don't help me and my failing science grade," Duo stated.  As if on cue, Hildie came bursting through the front door.

"Duo!  I've been looking for you all night!" She panted.  "I went to your house to pick up that snowboard you promised me I could borrow and when I went inside you had a message on the answering machine so I listened to it."

"Who was it?" Duo asked.

"Mister B.  He says he made an error in calculating out your science grade.  You're actually getting a C plus in his class!"

"Looks like you're blue went out with After Colony 197," I grinned poking my brother in the ribs with my elbow.

"Yep, the New Year's blues are over," He agreed.

THE END


	4. Valentines

Valentine's Day

By: Alicia Maxwell Winner

Disclaimer: If I owned Gundam Wing don't you think I'd be living in some big mansion making this story into a motion picture and being continuously asked for autographs?

A/N: This involves the gundam pilots' children so to avoid confusion I've made a list of the parents and ages of each-

Heero and Relena- Yoshiyuki(4yrs.) and Melissa(7yrs.) 

Quatre and Alicia- Kristina(7yrs.) and Jason(6yrs. Advanced learner)

Duo and Hildie- Dan and Heroki(7yrs.) and Hildie and Jessica(5yrs.)

Trowa and Cathy- Blair and Toki(7yrs.) and Katerina(6yrs.)

Wufei and Sally- Tsái-Shen(7yrs.)

"Okay class, go put your valentines in the mailboxes on the windowsill," the teacher instructed.  Suddenly the students began flocking to the tissue box mailboxes they had made earlier or- at least- most of them did.

"Such a stupid holiday," Heroki complained.

"Yeah if we have to have such a dumb holiday the least they could do is give us the day off," his slightly older brother Dan yawned.

"Love, feh!  What a stupid emotion!"

"Well isn't it obvious you were raised by Wufei?" Toki laughed.

"Shut up Barton!" Tsái-Shen barked.

"Which one of us?" Blair asked.

"Your stupid counterpart of course!"

"He's not my counterpart, he's my brother and he isn't stupid."

"If he ain't dumb why's his tongue stuck to an ice cube?" Dan cocked an eyebrow.

"Hmm?" Blair turned to his brother who was desperately trying to pull an ice cube off his tongue.  "Toki!  Where the hell did you get an ice cube?!"

"Ooh Blair cursed…," Heroki teased.

"Oh shut it Maxwell.  I've heard you say much worse."

"Which one of us?" Dan asked mocking Blair.

"Both of you.  We've all heard you two use almost every word in the book," Jason said with his nose still shoved in a textbook.

"Hey where's your sis, Winner?" Dan looked over at Kristina's empty seat.

"Windowsill.  She came in with a whole stack of valentines this morning."

"Don't tell me she actually believes this is a good holiday," Heroki cocked an eyebrow.

"Nah she's just strange like her mother," Toki mumbled over the ice cube.

"How can you be so cruel as to call your own aunt strange?" Melissa scolded.

"Easy Yuy- Aunt Alicia encourages us to call her strange," Blair explained.

"Oh well… that's bizarre," Melissa blinked.

"What did you expect?  Aunt 'Licia is princess of the wolves.  Of course she's gonna act strange," Blair yawned.

"Valentine's Day sucks," Dan retreated to the original topic.

"It's not that bad.  Let's you know who to avoid for the rest of your life at least," Melissa giggled.

"Okay kids you can go check your mailboxes now," the teacher said.

"Here guys," Kristina came over and dropped the boxes she was carrying onto the floor.  "I was over there anyway so I figured I'd save you all a trip.  Now let's see… Dan… Heroki… Toki… Blair… Melissa… Jason… Wufei's stupid son… and me," Kristina distributed the boxes.

"Take a look at this," Dan dumped out a pile of cards from his box.  "One more reason why I hate this holiday."

"Dang you got a lot."

"So did I," Heroki notified the others as he peered into his box.

"My mom says your dad used to have an actual _fan club following him around because so many girls thought he was cute.  Maybe genes don't skip a generation."_

"Or maybe it was just a mix-up cause I only see girls staring dreamily at Jason," Melissa said.  Jason's face hid deeper in his textbook.

"Not a chance.  Check this out," Kristina overturned Jason's box, pouring out about a dozen cards.

"Do we even _have_ that many girls in this class?" Toki asked.

"Toki, bite your tongue," Kristina ordered.  Toki did as commanded and the ice cube once stuck to his tongue went flying across the floor.  "Now what were you asking?"

"Do we even _have_ that many girls in this class?" Toki asked again.

"There's thirteen cards and thirteen girls in our class."

"Thirteen?  I only count eleven," Tsái-Shen said.  Melissa coughed.  "Oh yes sorry.  Twelve."

"Excuse me Chang but you're missing the biggest one of all!"

"Oh really?  You mean you Kristina?  With your manners you aren't even fit to be called a human."

"Well same to you, you greasy-haired jerk!" Kristina stuck out her tongue and lowered her eyelid.  "We'll see if you ever get a card from me again."

Chang's face froze in shock and began to pale.  He overturned his box- one card- from Kristina.

"Read it," Kristina insisted.  The boy opened the envelope and read.

"Dear Wufei's dorky son- I really don't like you much and I can see you feel the same about me.  So I decided to send you this Valentine to tell you that you and this holiday both really stink- Kristina Winner who will hate your stinking guts forever," he read mentally.  "Winner, I was raised not to hit girls but I've got a strong urge to forget that right now," he growled.

"Don't be mad.  I wrote relatively the same thing to everyone other than Toki and Blair," Kristina replied.

"YOU WHAT!?!" Kristina's cousins her brother and Melissa all shouted as they reached into their piles of letters to find hers.  She hated Chang more than anything- how could her letter to him have been so mild as to compare to what she had written them?

Kristina trudged into the house at three as usual.  Behind her entered her angry friends and family, not to mention the 'greasy-haired jerk', who were still giving her the cold shoulder for the mean messages she had written them all.  Toki and Blair, the only two who had gotten good messages, weren't really upset with her at all but for fear of getting beat up by the others, they gave Kristina the cold shoulder too.

"Oi Kristina, Jason, you're home," Alicia greeted her children.  "I see you brought the whole troop over."

"Mom, Kristina wrote us all mean letters," Jason told her.

"Is that true Kristina?" Alicia's face hardened.

"Y-y-y-yes," Kristina gulped in fear of what her punishment would be.  No TV for a week?  Grounded for three days?  What?

"Then apologize," Alicia told her.

"What?" Kristina asked in disbelief.

"Hey I wrote some pretty nasty letters in my day too.  The thing is you should always apologize."

"Okay mom," Kristina turned to the others.  "I'm sorry guys."

"I hope you are!  You said my four-year-old brother who can't speak looks like Einstein compared to me!" Melissa yelled.

"Heh… I used that one myself except it was Treize I was writing and I said a newborn looked like Einstein compared to him.  And I also wrote something in there about ripping out his guts-- which I never _ever_ want to hear _any_ of you say!" Alicia said.

"Hey kids," Quatre came down the stairs.  "How'd school go today?"

"Valentine's day stinks," Heroki said flatly.

Alicia and Quatre looked at each other and laughed.

"Kristina, Jason, insane doesn't even begin to describe your parents," Dan said.

"You kids only hate Valentine's cause you're young.  Trust me, you'll all love it when you get older," Alicia said once she managed to stop laughing.

"Excuse me Alicia but if I intend to become a Buddhist monk when I grow up does that statement still pertain to me?" Tsái-Shen asked.

"Maybe, maybe not," Quatre replied putting his one arm around Alicia.

"Valentine's Day makes me sick," Dan remarked.

"And it kills hundreds of trees," Jason said.  All the kids blinked at him cluelessly.  "Well it does.  What did you think paper was made from, thin air?"

"While you're ecological concern is well based Jason, Valentine's Day is about love not paper," Alicia answered.

The children quickly resolved to make retching noises.

"I hope you all know that love is the only reason why you exist right now.  If I hadn't fallen in love with my Q-chan, Jason and Kristina wouldn't exist and the same for the rest of you and your parents," Alicia said.

More retching noises.

"Hey Alicia, Hildie and Duo are usually home from work by now and Heero has today off- what do you say to calling in reinforcements?"

"I think that's a good idea," Alicia replied.

Alicia and Quatre proceeded to call Duo and Hildie and Heero asking them for help in trying to convince the kids that love was not disgusting.  Duo and Heero agreed to come but Hildie had to stay home because one of her younger twins was ill and the other was having trouble understanding why the alphabet couldn't go ABC_E_GHIJ _ _N….

While Alicia and Quatre awaited the arrival of Duo and Heero, they sat the children down in the living room, handed out the typical after-school snacks, and then decided to tempt the fates.

The two sat down infront of the children.  Quatre kissed Alicia on the forehead.

No reaction from the children.

Quatre kissed Alicia on the cheek and then the other.

Still no reaction.

Quatre shrugged and kissed Alicia on the lips.

Retching noises started up again. 

"Now how is a kiss on the lips disgusting when a kiss on the cheek isn't?" Alicia asked.

"Because you can't get Mono from a kiss on the cheek," Jason replied.

"How does he know what Mono is?" Alicia and Quatre asked each other.  "I certainly didn't tell him."

"Because a kiss on the cheek is a sign of affection and a kiss on the lips is a sign of love," Jason altered his answer.

"The Mono answer made much more sense," Alicia notified him.

"Alicia, I say we give this up.  Just roll over.  There's no point in trying to define red for a blind man."

"I suppose you're right Quatre-kun.  I'm gonna go get changed," Alicia sighed and stood up.  She walked up the stairs.

"Hey Dad, what did you get Mom for Valentine's day?" Jason asked.

"You'll see any second now," Quatre replied.  

"Roses and a pendant!  Oh wow! Thank-you, thank-you, thank-you Quatre-chan!" Alicia ran back down the stairs carrying the pendant and the roses in her hand and hugged Quatre.

"Maybe Valentine's Day isn't so bad," Dan said.

"WHAT!?" the other kids shrieked.

"NANI!?!" Melissa, who was slower to react, screeched.

"Play it _cool guys.  If we don't pretend that we think Valentine's is cool they'll keep us here all day and make us listen to stupid love stories from when they were in their teens," Dan mumbled to the others._

"Very, _very good point," Kristina agreed._

THE END


	5. St Patrick's Day

Disclaimer- I think I'd have more than twenty dollars to my name if I owned Gundam Wing

A Maxwell Family Reunion

By: Alicia Maxwell Winner

"You seem nervous Licia," Duo noted.  "You okay?"

"Duo you've seen the chaos that unfolds at these things."

"Oh come on.  Just because the last two reunions were utter chaos doesn't mean this one will be."

"I hope you're right," I bit my lip.

"Of course the last two reunions we didn't bring Hildie Quatre and the others so this one might be even more disastrous."

"Gee! So nice of you to ease my nerves bro!" I yelled sarcastically.

"Don't mention it.  Wake me when we get there," Duo reclined his seat.

Family reunion- those two words put more fear in me than any others and with good reason too.  My father was a scientist who lived as a shut-in to maximize his working time.  My mother was a martial artist who raised us with her belief in Darwinism- the strong live; the weak die.  Then there were my cousins my uncle and my aunt.  My aunt had a knack for making things explode and my cousins… well….  Akira, my oldest cousin, was pretty normal other than his short attention span and extremely hyper attitude.  Angelina was a rude fashion-obsessed drama queen and Sarah was strong and smart but she and I had been on bad terms since she fell in love with that weird guy who I forget the name of.  The man thought he was an elf!  How could you fall in love with a man who was one hundred percent sure that he was an _elf_?!  And all these people would be gathered together at dinner that night….  I understood the phrase "God help me" on a whole new level at that moment.

"Hey Alicia are we almost there?" Trowa asked.

"A few more miles.  Are you ready for tonight?"

"I don't think anyone can ever truly be ready for a Maxwell family reunion," he replied.

"Kami help us," I chuckled weakly.

"Alicia- we're Irish Catholics.  I believe you mean to say _'God help us'."_

"No. The last thing we need is to drag our parents' god into this.  We're much better off dragging someone else's god into it.  So 'Kami help us' stays."

"Whatever you say."

"Now all we've gotta do is get fate to agree with you and we're all set for tonight."

"Hey Alicia I think you should pull over.  You're starting to talk crazy and the last thing we need is you and your rattled nerves driving down the interstate."

"Exactly what I was thinking," I pulled up and switched seats with Trowa.  Oh well so Trowa's license was revoked two weeks ago for that stunt he pulled with the Honda… it was still better than me being behind the wheel at the moment.  Besides, just by looking at him you couldn't tell he'd just run a totaled car into a ditch in flames a few weeks back right?  

"You going to keep your mouth shut about elf boy at dinner?" Trowa asked as we started off again.

"Only if Sarah keeps her mouth shut about Quatre."

"Playing the dozens with your own flesh and blood isn't such a good idea."

"You only play the dozens when you insult family and that insane idiot isn't a part of her family."

"He may be someday," Trowa reminded me.

"I'll slit his throat before he can be."

"I just hope you remember that this is a family togetherness thing tonight not some gore fest."

"It won't be if _he isn't there," I replied._

"Well there is here," Trowa said pulling into the driveway.

"Here already?" I asked peering out the window.

Same stupid run-down white duplex with colonial blue shudders, the same Christmas lights in the widows though it was already mid-March- yep, this was home.  487 Red Rock Drive.  Maybe I would've loathed it more if I had actually grown up in this place.

Uncle Mark was sitting out on the porch.  I thanked my lucky stars that it was the sane one out there.  If it had been anyone else sitting out there I would've taken off down the road.  But I didn't.  I got out of the car and went up to the porch… well, after giving Duo a painful smack of a wakeup call.

"Ohayo kids," Uncle Mark waved.  "How you been?"

"Alright," I replied flopping down on the front steps, "and you?"

"Fine.  I can't believe you guys actually showed up."

"Why not?" Trowa asked.

"'Why not'?  Don't play innocent when you're clearly not.  You know what I mean.  Last time you three showed up you ended up in the ER."

"Not my fault mom's cooking is bad and Aunt Jess accidentally filled the turkey with plastic explosives," I laughed weakly.  Remembering that night in the ER made my stomach hurt.

"Ah but it was your fault that Sarah went trigger-happy," Uncle Mark replied.

I took a look at him.  How did he do it?  He raised a hyperactive boy with a short attention span, a drama queen, and a trigger-happy nerd with plenty of muscle not to mention he raised them all with a wife who made things explode left and right.  How did he stay sane?

"How was I supposed to know she'd throw a grenade when I called that idiot boyfriend of hers 'elf boy'?" I finally replied.

"Well I just recommend you don't do it again," he stood up.  "By the way, this time we're having takeout," he smiled.

"Thank Shinigami!  I don't think I could stand another home-cooked meal!" Duo said.  Now where had he come from?  Two seconds previous he was still in the car.

"You didn't really bring the whole gang did you?" Uncle Mark asked.  I had told my mother we were bringing everyone with us.  Ten of us.  No one thought I had been serious about that.

"Of course we did," I grinned.  Uncle Mark grimaced and went inside.

"Tomoe!  Your kids are here!" he announced.

Tomoe- my mad scientist of a father- had been given a strange name by our grandparents.  Probably because they knew he'd be just as insane as they were.  

Now, before I continue, I believe I should explain my family.  First there were the Maxwells- my grandparents on my father's side- and the Aligises- my mother's parents.  Now the Maxwells had two boys- my father Tomoe and my Uncle Mark.  The Aligises had two girls- my mother Angela and my Aunt Jess.  My father married my mother and they had three kids- Duo, Trowa, and myself.  Uncle Mark was then married to my Aunt Jess though I don't think it was their idea.  Anyway, whether they wanted to get hitched or not, Mark and Jess got married and they had three kids- Angelina, Akira, and Sarah.  And that is my family history up until that point.

"Hey Sarah Akira Angelina!  Your cousins are here!"

"Oh no…" I groaned.  _Why_ did he have to tell them that we were there?  _Why_?

"Hey Alicia!" Akira came running out the front door and hugged me.  Okay so we were close, did he really have to squeeze the living daylights out of me?

"Oi Akira, mind giving me a lil slack?  I can't breathe," I said.  He let go.

"Hey Trowa!  You came too!  After last year I thought you'd sworn off these reunions for good!  And Duo!  Jeez we _never_ thought you'd come back!"

"Hello guys," Angelina appeared in the doorway and looked us all over.  "Still wearing black huh Duo?  Well let me tell you black is so last year.  Besides it makes you look fat.  Trowa… hey tell me something, do jeans get any tighter than that?  And Alicia… Alicia how many times do I have to tell you?  You do not look good in purple.  And where did you get those pants?  The garbage?"

"So what if they're a little torn," I said.

"_That_," she scoffed pointing to the gap at the knee, "is much more than a _little torn."_

"Trowa please remind me why the hell we showed up when we all knew we'd just be talked down to?" I whispered.

"Because that- like it or not-," he pointed to Akira and Angelina, "is our family."

"Is that Quatre?" Akira pointed back toward the car where the others were finally starting to realize we had reached the house.

"No that's Heero.  _That's_ Quatre," I pointed out the blonde.

"So that's Quatre.  Fifty bucks says your parents know he's a Winner and murder him by dinner time."

"Is it really that obvious that he's one of them?" I asked nervously.

"Oh yes," Akira replied.  "And if I can tell he's a Winner from this distance, you better hope your parents just suddenly went deaf blind and dumb and they can't smell anymore."

My parents… anti-Winners through and through.  They told me some story about Mister Winner.  They said he refused to give them the slightest bit of aid when our shuttle crashed in L4 when Trowa Duo and I were little more than tots.  His reason according to them- they were fighters, the scum of the earth, and they deserved death.  Well, regardless of whether the story has even the slightest bit of truth to it or not, my parents were more anti-Winner than humanly possible and I was about to be in deep trouble.

"What should I do?" I bit my lip.

"What else can you do?  Hope to God they don't notice."

"If they don't I'll tell them."

"You wouldn't!" I yelled at the unseen person.

"Oh yes I would," Sarah jumped down from the porch roof and readjusted her glasses.

"Yes you would if you and elf boy want to both die slow painful deaths in the hands of my gundam.  I'll squeeze you to death if you tell them you little witch!" 

"You wouldn't dare," Sarah smirked.

"Hold up Alicia!" Trowa held me back.  "Don't!  It's not right to have blood shed this early in the reunion!"

"Oh come on Tro.  We all know, if by some miracle, Alicia had the guts to try and strike me she still won't be able to," Sarah attempted to provoke me.  Let me tell you- it worked.

"No!  Alicia!" Duo latched onto me as well.  Together Trowa and Duo mustered up enough power to pull me back a few feet.

"Damn you Sarah!  I'll kill you!" I shouted.

"Alicia don't!  _Think!_  Murder one- DEATH PENALTY!" Trowa tried to reason with me.

"Then I'll just make it look like an accident," I told him.

"Stupid!" he replies.

"Can't I at least smack her?" I begged.

"Yeah sure just don't hit her too hard," Trowa shrugged.

"She's… gone…" I blinked.

"Oi Alicia-chan!  So good to see you again," a familiar voice said.

"Oi Oba Jess… you aren't still cooking are you?" I asked nervously.

"No, no…" she laughed.  "Not after last year."

I breathed a sigh of relief.

"Hey Alicia aren't you going to introduce me to your family?" Quatre tapped my shoulder.

"Oh sure… that's Akira-chan my lil cousin… that's Angelina my youngest cousin… and that's Aunt Jess.  Everyone, meet Quatre," I said.

"He's a Winner isn't he?" Aunt Jess immediately asked.

"Uh well…. Yeah…." I blushed.  I was hoping Akira picking him out was just a fluke.

"Your parents aren't going to be very happy with this Alicia-chan…."

"I know, I know but… me and Q-chan have something special," I replied sheepishly.

"Well Quatre-san it's nice to meet you and it's been nice knowing you.  Do you happen to have a death wish?"

"Huh?" Quatre blinked.

"Quatre…" I pulled him aside.  "I'm not too sure bringing you here was a good idea.  At the rate this is going, you won't get through dinner alive.  Why don't you Yuy and Chang take the car and take Sally and Relena to a restaurant?  I don't think you'll be safe here."

"Nonsense.  How much trouble could there possibly be?"

The three of us walked into the dining room before the others.  Mother was waiting at the table.  She didn't say a word.  She just got up walked over and studied each of us one by one.

"Duo, son, you look like you've lost a lot of weight… you aren't starving yourself now are you?" she asked as she examined Duo.

"No mom of course not," Duo replied.

Mother nodded and moved on to examine Trowa.

"You don't look like you've changed a single bit.  Well, except for the wedding band.  Why the hell wasn't I informed that my son got hitched to some knife-throwing circus chick?" she asked angrily.  I noted that mother had just had one of those random moments of hers in which she gains a cowgirl accent like Aunt Jess'.  "Well evolution kept you alive for a purpose son- that's to create a next generation.  Hope the girl wants children."

I guess I should have mentioned this before but my mother is not only a firm believer in Darwinism but she also believes we were only put on earth to eat drink sleep breathe and breed.  She's a lot like the parents in _My Big Fat Greek Wedding, which pretty much explains what happened next._

Mother moved on to study me.  She looked me over and seemed confused.

"Nani?"

"Still not carrying children?  You know you won't be able to have children forever."

"Mother!  I'm only twenty years old!  I have plenty of time!" I reasoned.

"Not when you're so angry all the time," she said.

I growled and smacked Duo over the head.

"Ow what was that for!?"

"Give me a break!  You want me to hit my own mother?" I replied sharply.

"Calm down Alicia," Trowa insisted.  "We still haven't seen Dad yet."

That's when dad came in using his typical entrance- the wall.

"Another one of his inventions went berserk on him," I noted as dad flew around the room on some out-of-control machine.

"Oi Tomoe here's the replacement turn-dial you told me to bring!  Tomoe!" Uncle Mark chased my father around the room.

Finally dad's machine was grounded and he, rather shakily, stepped over to us.  He stood silent for a moment then put a hand on my shoulder.

"You're a good girl for putting up with us for so long," he whispered.

You see, my dad may have been equally, if not more so psychotic, than my mother but he realized quite well that he was a psycho and that it was not easy for the three of us to put up with them.  It was good to know that at least _he was on his first step to curing his insanity._

By now all the others had arrived in the dining room, even Sarah who kept her distance from me.  We sat down and mother laid out dinner.

"Mmm… Boston Market!  Real non-explosive _food at my parents' house!  I don't believe it!" I thought to myself._

"Oh drinks!" Aunt Jess jumped up from the table.  "What's everyone want to drink?"

To shorten the next few events of the night, I'll be brief.  The "drinks" Aunt Jess served Akira and Uncle Mark were nitroglycerine.  So dad had to run downstairs to his lab and find something that would neutralize the nitro before we were all blown sky high.  He found the solution and brought it upstairs.  Akira and Uncle Mark drank it down and we were all safe again, for a while….

Michael, my Cousin Sarah's elf boy, was quick to become the subject of our discussion.  That's when Heero mentioned something that I had said about the elf boy and Heero quickly discovered he wasn't the fastest shooter in the world.

"Dammit Sarah!  That could've hit me!" I yelled staring at the bullet hole through the back of the chair I'd been sitting in.  I moved to sit down again and I noticed my mother watching Quatre.  It made me nervous.

"So that's Quatre?" she asked.

"Y-yes," I replied.

"Alicia what the hell where you thinking when you married him?  He's nothing more than one of those worthless spawn of that bastard Winner," her gaze shifted to me.

"Mother!"

"What?  Isn't he one of them?  Isn't he a Winner?  The son of that man who told us to go off and _die_ when we got stranded in L4?"

"Nani?" Heero perked up.  For some reason he had developed an interest in dark family secrets.  Probably because he'd heard they were sometimes worth cash and Heero was flat broke.

"You heard me right.  That bastard Winner told me to 'go to hell where fighters like you belong' when I asked him for some financial help after our shuttle crashed in L4 eighteen years ago," she said.  "I suppose the bastard got what he deserved though.  Right Alicia?  You saw the whole thing first hand… they shot him right out of space."

"How _dare_ you talk about Quatre's father like that!  I don't care if every single word of your story is true!  You don't have the right to talk about him!  He may have treated us poorly but I'm damn sure he did some good for someone somewhere!  Come on Quatre, let's get out of here," I got up and walked over to where Quatre was sitting.  I grabbed his arm and dragged him along, out to the front porch.

"Alicia, are you okay?" he asked.

"Yeah I'm fine.  Why?"

"Because I've never heard you defend my father with such fervor.  Heck, I don't think I've ever heard you defend him at _all_."

"She had no right."

"It's okay Alicia.  I realize my dad made some bad mistakes.  Let's go back inside."

"No.  I'm not going back just to hear that _woman_ slander your father."

"That woman's your mother Alicia.  And, while what she says does hurt me, she's a part of your family and, since you've accepted _my family, I think the least I could do is except yours."_

"Oh Quatre…."

"Come on… let's go back inside now," he insisted.

"All right," I nodded.  The two of us went in and spent the rest of the night there as planned.  Some more crazy things happened involving explosives, guns, and technology but I'm glad we stayed.  Because it's like Trowa told me, "Like it or not, that's our family."

It was around midnight went we finally left.  Before we all piled into the car, we played Rock Paper Scissors to decide who would drive.  Quatre lost and I promised to stay awake and keep him company as we drove home.  After that, we started packing the ten of us into the van.1

"Oh Heero?" Quatre tapped him on the shoulder.

"What is it?" Heero turned around.

"I'd like you to keep that story you heard tonight under raps _okay_?" Quatre handed him a few hundreds.

"What story?" Heero laughed, stuffing the money into his pocket of his jeans.  Then Heero got into the van and closed the door behind him.

"Why'd you pay him?  Nobody other than us would believe that story anyhow," I told him.

"I know but Heero's starving to death and he doesn't except charity so I figured I'd let him think he has one up on me," Quatre replied.

"Good idea," I chuckled.  The two of us got into the van as well.

And so that was our Saint Patrick's Day.  Guess the "luck of the Irish" really does exist because that night really wasn't so bad.  Not to mention Quatre wasn't killed.

From the bottom of my heart to all of you out there- Happy Saint Patrick's Day!

THE END

  


* * *

1 Since when does a van seat ten?  I really don't know.


End file.
